Hair highlighting applicator

ABSTRACT

A hair treatment material applicator comprises a lid, a base, a hinge connecting the lid and base to allow pivotal movement of the lid and base with respect to each other from an open position to a closed position; and a bail pivotally mounted to the lid for pivotal movement from a use position above the lid to a latch position below the base holding the lid and base in the closed position. A compressible material, such as dense foam, is positioned in one of the lid and base; and a hair treatment material (such as highlighter, dye, bleach, protein treatment, etc.) is positioned in the other of the lid and base. The foam and material are positioned to allow strands of human hair to pass between them for uniform application of material to the strands. The hinge is an over-molded rubber hinge biasing the lid and base open.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Many people wish to treat the hair on their head to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance, or to enhance the health of their hair. While this can be done professionally in a hair salon many women and men desire to treat their hair themselves. Many different hair treatment applicators for professional or non-professional use have been developed over the years, such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,830,030, 5,325,878, 6,250,312, and 7,156,885, and in published U.S. Patent Applications 2008/0083418, 2008/0083419, 2008/0087293, and 2008/0087294, and commercial products marketed under the trade names “Color Bug” and “Instant Highlights.”

The hair treatment applicator according to the invention functions in a manner similar to those in the above-identified prior art applicators but has a different construction that lends itself to a number of advantages. The applicator according to the invention is simple, is easy to use and to positively control both by professionals and by individuals treating their own hair, is versatile, applies hair treatment uniformly, and is relatively inexpensive to make.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a hair treatment material applicator comprising: a lid; a base; a hinge operatively connecting the lid and base to allow pivotal movement of the lid and base with respect to each other from an open position to a closed position; a bail pivotally mounted to the lid for pivotal movement from a use position above the lid to a latch position below the base to hold the lid and base in the closed position; and a hair treatment material mounted in at least one of the lid and base. In the use position the bail is spaced from a top surface of the lid a distance sufficient to allow a user to position the tip of her or his index finger between the bail and lid to facilitate positive control of the applicator, and a slope to the top front end of the lid facilitates that even more.

Preferably the lid and base are plastic and the hinge comprises an over-molded rubber hinge biasing the lid and base toward the open position. That is the hinge acts like a spring and the biasing action thereof makes the applicator easier to hold in use since both the lid and base are pressed toward different parts of the user's hand (e.g. index finger and thumb).

The applicator also desirably further comprises a compressible material such as dense foam positioned in one of the lid and base, and the hair treatment material positioned in the other of the lid and base. The foam and material are operatively positioned so as to allow strands of human hair to pass between them and for material to be substantially uniformly applied to the strands. The foam is preferably presents a substantially sloped shape, tapering from a highest position most remote from the hinge to a lowest position closest to the hinge, and desirably the foam is also arched as well as presenting a sloped shape. The sloped shape may be provided by the shape of the foam itself, or by the shape of a recess in a tray in which the foam is mounted in the base or lid.

The material is preferably recessed within the lid or base. While almost any hair treatment material can be used preferably the material is selected from the group consisting essentially of solid, semi-solid, gel, and high viscosity liquid impregnated pad, materials; in turn selected from the group consisting essentially of hair dye, highlighter, bleach, protein treatments, detangler, conditioner, oil adder or remover, or grease removing materials.

Normally the foam is mounted in the base and the hair treatment material is mounted in the lid. The foam is mounted in a tray preferably held by flexible latching hooks to the base, and the hair treatment material is mounted in part by structures including flexible latching hooks engaging the lid.

According to another aspect of the invention, a hair treatment material applicator is provided comprising: a lid; a base; a hinge operatively connecting the lid and base to allow pivotal movement of the lid and base with respect to each other from an open position to a closed position; a dense foam positioned in one of the lid and base; and a hair treatment material positioned in the other of the lid and base. The foam and material are operatively positioned so as to allow strands of human hair to pass between them and for material to be substantially uniformly applied to the strands. The details of the components may be as described above.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a hair treatment material applicator comprising: a plastic lid; a plastic base; a hinge operatively connecting the lid and base tallow pivotal movement of the lid and base with respect to each other from an open position to a closed position, the hinge comprising an over-molded rubber hinge biasing the lid and base toward the open position; a compressible material positioned in one of the lid and base; and a hair treatment material positioned in the other of the lid and base for cooperation with the compressible material during use to treat hair. Again the details of the components may be as described above.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a simple, easy to use and to positively control both by professionals and by individuals treating their own hair, versatile, and/or relatively inexpensive hair treatment applicator for substantially uniformly applying treatment material to human hair. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from the detailed description of the drawings and from the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of an exemplary applicator according to the present invention when in a fully open position;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the applicator of FIG. 1 when in a fully open position;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the applicator of FIG. 1 when in a fully open position;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the applicator of FIG. 1 when in a fully open position;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the applicator of FIGS. 1-4 taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the applicator of FIGS. 1-5 taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the applicator of FIGS. 1-6 when in a use position for highlighting or otherwise treating human hair;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the applicator of FIGS. 1-7 when in a latched closed position; and

FIG. 9 is a top perspective exploded view of a modified form of an applicator according to the invention.

DETAILS DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An applicator according to the present invention is shown generally by reference numeral 10 in the drawings. It has two main body components, a lid 12 and a base 14, connected together by a hinge 16. The lid 12 and base 14 can be made of any suitable relatively inert material but are preferably molded of plastic, such as ABS, and preferably have a generally quadrate configuration in plan, as illustrated in the drawings, although as shown the edges are preferably rounded. The hinge 16 may have any conventional construction but, as illustrated, preferably comprises a rubber living hinge over-molded (using conventional techniques) onto the lid 12 and base 14. The rubber hinge inherently provides a spring bias biasing the applicator to the fully open position illustrated in FIGS. 1-6.

Pivotally connected to the lid 12 near the sloped end 17 thereof opposite the hinge 16 is a bail 18. The spacing 19 (see FIG. 5 in particular) between the top of the bail 18 and the top of the lid 12 is sufficient for a user to insert the tip of her or his index finger F under the bail 18 during use, as seen in FIG. 7. This allows the user to comfortably and precisely control use of the applicator 10. The slope of the end 17 assists in allowing comfortable positioning of one's index finger F. The distance 19 is also approximately the thickness of the base 14 so that the bail 18 can be pivoted about the axis A-A (FIG. 2) defined by the pivot pins 20 connecting it to the lid 12 so as to latch the applicator 10 in the closed position against the bias of the hinge 16, as illustrated in FIG. 8. Preferably the distance 19 is between about 0.25-0.75 inches.

Since the bail 18 is outside the applicator 10, the lid 12 and base 14 are free and clear of any restriction so that during use strands of human hair H (see FIG. 7) do not get caught on any edges. The bail may be held by conventional detents (not shown) in the latched position of FIG. 8, if desired.

The functional hair-treating components of the applicator 10 are the hair treatment material component 22 provided in lid 12 and preferably slightly recessed therein, as clear from both FIGS. 4 and 5, and the compressible material (e. g. foam or sponge) component 24 in the base 14 and extending upwardly therefrom, as clear from FIGS. 4-7. While it is preferred that the component 22 be mounted in lid 12 and the foam 24 in base 14, if desired component 22 could be mounted in the base 14 and foam 24 in lid 12.

The component 24 is a compressible material, and preferably comprises a dense foam or sponge. Desirably the foam is ethylene-vinyl acetates (EVA) foam, such as shown in U.S. Patent Publication 2006/0089241, and has a density of between about 40-100 kg/m³(e. g. about 60 kg/m³), or equivalent other closed cell foams of comparable density. The foam 24 is preferably arched (or barrel-shaped, see FIG. 6) and presents a sloped-shape, extending above the inner face of base 14 as most clearly seen in FIGS. 1, 5 and 6. The portion of the foam 24 extending above the base 14 preferably tapers gradually so that the arched center is the highest at the end 25 most remote from hinge 16 and the lowest at the end 27 closest to hinge 16, as most clearly seen in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The gradual taper of the foam 24 allows for less stress on the over-molded rubber hinge 16 and less pinching of hair strands H (see FIG. 7) adjacent the hinge 16 when the applicator unit 10 in is use. The arched and sloped shape of the foam/sponge 24, as well as a smooth surface on the top thereof, also allows it to be in substantially uniform operative contact with the hair treatment component 22 providing a more even pressure on the hair strands H when moving relative to the applicator 10 and thus depositing a substantially uniform amount of treatment material on the hair strands H. Also the smooth top surface of foam 24 substantially precludes absorption of hair oils thereby.

The foam/sponge 24 is glued, taped, or otherwise provided in a plastic (e.g. ABS) insert tray 28 (see FIGS. 5 & 6) which then snaps and locks into the base 14 using any suitable mechanism, such as the flexible latch hooks 29 seen in FIG. 6. The tray 28 may be designed to be either readily removable (so that the entire tray and sponge can be replaced when worn out), or permanently mounted in the base 14, depending upon the materials and construction of the tray 28 and the flexibility of the latch hooks 29. Alternatively, the sponge 24 may be removed with a substantial enough force to break the adhesive attraction of the glue or tape, etc. holding it into tray 28, and a new sponge 24 may be fastened in its place.

The treatment material component 22 comprises a treatment material 30 positioned in a tray 31 (see FIG. 5), such as glued therein. The plastic (e.g. ABS) tray 31 may be releasably (so that the tray and material may be replaced when consumed, or when a different type of treatment is desired) or permanently held within lid 12 by the flexible latch hooks 32, as seen in FIG. 5, or any other suitable mechanism.

The material 30 may be any solid, semi-solid, gel, or pad impregnated with high viscosity liquid, material capable of treating hair. Exemplary materials include highlighter, dye, bleach, detangler, protein treatments, oil adder or remover, conditioner, grease remover, etc. The details of the material 30 are not part of the invention; rather any conventional (such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,030, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein) or hereinafter developed suitable material 30 may be used, as long as it is in a form that will not leak out of the applicator 10 and that is capable of being substantially uniformly transferred to hair strands H (see FIG. 7) when the foam 24 and material 30 move over the strands H. One particular material 30 that is especially useful is a commercially available custom hair highlighting product sold by Orchard International, Inc. of Ontario, Canada and known as a “hair chalk.” The “hair chalk” hair highlighting formulation comprises an anhydrous powder which may include talc, mica, colorants, and TiO₂, and also including silicone, esters, oils, and/or amino acids to act as binders so that the powder is in solid form in the applicator 10 and will bond with human hair to which it is applied.

As seen most clearly in FIG. 5, as earlier indicated the top surface of the material 30 is preferably recessed in the lid 12. One reason for this is to allow for the edges of the insert tray 31 to have a radius on the plastic perimeter thereof, creating an area for hair strands H to go through the unit 10 without getting caught on any edges whatsoever. The strands H glide only through the material 30 and do not engage any other part of the applicator 10 except for the foam 24.

FIG. 9 illustrates a slightly revised version of the applicator 110 of the invention shown in FIGS. 1-8. In the FIG. 9 embodiment components comparable to those in FIGS. 1-8 are shown by the same reference numerals, only preceded by the number “1.”

In the FIG. 9 embodiment the foam/sponge 124 presents a generally sloped and arched shape to the material 30 just as in the FIGS. 1-8 embodiment only this shape is determined by the shape of the tray 128 mounting the foam 124, not by the shape of the foam itself. That is the foam 124 has a straight bottom and is not itself wedge-shaped but rather the bottom 33 of the tray 128 is sloped so as to be deeper closest to the over-molded hinge 116 and shallower at the point of tray 128 most remote from hinge 116. Thus the FIG. 9 embodiment presents the same look of the sponge 124 as for the sponge 24 in FIG. 4 and the only difference is whether the sponge 24/124 sloped shape is achieved by the shape of the foam itself or the shape of the tray 128 in which it sits.

In the FIG. 9 embodiment the tray 128 is held within the hollow base 114 by the flexible latching hooks 129 connected to the tray 128 itself, and mating with recesses 35 in the interior of the tray 128. The tray 131 which locks the material 130 in the recessed position within lid 112 may be releasably or permanently held in place by the flexible latching projections 132 which cooperate with recesses (not visible in FIG. 9) in the lid 112 comparable to the recesses 35.

The material 130 may be provided within a pan 36 which in turn is inserted into a separate plastic (e. g. ABS) make-up tray 37. The tray 37 may be releasably latched, sonically welded, or otherwise attached to the “bottom” of lid 112 as seen in FIG. 9. This allows easy installation of the material 130 into the applicator 110. Also the provision of the pan 36 and tray 37 allow the “top” of the pan 36 (as seen in FIG. 9) to contact the underside of the locking tray 131. This in turn allows higher pressure of the foam 124 on the material 130 during use.

In an exemplary use of the applicator unit 10, 110 to highlight hair, where the material 30, 130 is a hair highlighting material (such as the “hair chalk” described above), which will be described only with respect to the FIGS. 1-8 embodiment although the use is the same for the FIG. 9 embodiment, the user moves the bail 18 from the latched position in FIG. 8 to the use position in FIG. 7 by pivoting the bail 18 about the axis A-A defined by pivot pins 20. The lid 12 and base 14 are allowed to separate slightly more than is illustrated in FIG. 7, under the bias of the spring hinge 16, to allow for a plurality of strands of hair H to pass between the foam 24 and material 30. Then with her or his index finger F and thumb T in the approximate positions illustrated in FIG. 7, and the lid 12 and base 14 biased into contact with the user's finger F and thumb T by the hinge 16, the user slides the unit 10 over the hair strands H starting near the roots and finishing once the ends of the hair strands H pass out of the unit 10. The user applies sufficient pressure pushing the lid 12 and base 14 toward each other so as to insure application of the highlighter material 30 while still allowing the hair strands H to pass smoothly through the applicator unit 10. The combined arched and slope shape presented by the foam 24 facilitates uniform treatment of the hair strands H.

While the terms “above,” “top,” “bottom,” and the like are used herein for convenience, it is to be understood that the applicator of the invention is not restricted to the orientation of the component parts with respect to earth.

While the invention has been herein shown and described in what is presently conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment thereof many modifications may be made thereof within the scope of the invention, which scope is to be restricted only by the prior art. For example the invention includes all specific intermediate ranges within a broad range; e. g. “about 40-100 kg/m³” means 39-61, 59-75, 80-101, and all other narrower ranges within the broad range. The invention is to be accorded the broadest interpretation of the appended claims so as to encompass all equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A hair treatment material applicator comprising: a lid; a base; a hinge operatively connecting said lid and base to allow pivotal movement of said lid and base with respect to each other from an open position to a closed position; a bail pivotally mounted to said lid for pivotal movement from a use position above said lid to a latch position below said base holding said lid and base in said closed position; and a hair treatment material mounted within at least one of said lid and base.
 2. An applicator as recited in claim 1 wherein in said use position said bail is spaced from a top surface of said lid a distance sufficient to allow a user to position the tip of her or his index finger between said bail and lid to facilitate control of the applicator.
 3. An applicator as recited in claim 1 wherein said lid and base are plastic and wherein said hinge comprises an over-molded rubber hinge biasing said lid and base toward said open position.
 4. An applicator as recited in claim 1 further comprising a dense foam positioned in one of said lid and base, and said hair treatment material positioned in the other of said lid and base, said foam and material operatively positioned so as to allow strands of human hair to pass therebetween and for material to be substantially uniformly applied to the strands.
 5. An applicator as recited in claim 4 wherein said foam presents a sloped shape, gradually tapering from a highest position most remote from said hinge to a lowest position closest to said hinge.
 6. An applicator as recited in claim 5 wherein said foam is also arched as well as presenting a sloped shape, and comprises EVA foam with a density of about 40-100 kg/m³ or the equivalent.
 7. An applicator as recited in claim 5 wherein said material is recessed within said lid or base.
 8. An applicator as recited in claim 7 wherein said material is selected from the group consisting essentially of solid, semi-solid, gel, and high viscosity liquid impregnated pad materials; in turn selected from the group consisting essentially of, hair dye, highlighter, bleach, protein treatments, detangler, conditioner, oil adder or remover, or grease removing materials.
 9. An applicator as recited in claim 4 wherein said foam is mounted in said base and said hair treatment material is mounted in said lid.
 10. An applicator as recited in claim 9 wherein said foam is mounted in a tray held by flexible latching hooks to said base, and said hair treatment material is mounted in a tray held by flexible latching hooks to said lid.
 11. An applicator as recited in claim 4 wherein said lid and base are plastic and wherein said hinge comprises an over-molded rubber hinge biasing said lid and base toward said open position.
 12. An applicator as recited in claim 11 wherein in said use position said bail is spaced from a top surface of said lid a distance sufficient to allow a user to position the tip of her or his index finger between said bail and lid.
 13. A hair treatment material applicator comprising: a lid; a base; a hinge operatively connecting said lid and base to allow pivotal movement of said lid and base with respect to each other from an open position to a closed position; a dense foam positioned in one of said lid and base; and a hair treatment material positioned in the other of said lid and base; said foam and material operatively positioned so as to allow strands of human hair to pass therebetween and for material to be substantially uniformly applied to the strands.
 14. An applicator as recited in claim 13 wherein said foam is substantially arched and presents a sloped shape gradually tapering from a highest position most remote from said hinge to a lowest position closest to said hinge; and wherein said material is recessed within said lid or base.
 15. An applicator as recited in claim 13 wherein said material is selected from the group consisting essentially of solid, semi-solid, gel, and. high viscosity liquid impregnated pad materials; in turn selected from the group consisting essentially of, hair dye, highlighter, bleach, protein treatments, detangler, conditioner, oil adder or remover, or grease removing materials.
 16. An applicator as recited in claim 14 wherein said foam is mounted in said base and said hair treatment material is mounted in said lid.
 17. An applicator as recited in claim 13 wherein said lid and base are plastic and wherein said hinge comprises an over-molded rubber hinge biasing said lid and base toward said open position.
 18. A hair treatment material applicator comprising: a plastic lid; a plastic base; a hinge operatively connecting said lid and base to allow pivotal movement of said lid and base with respect to each other from an open position to a closed position, said hinge comprising an over-molded rubber hinge biasing said lid and base toward said open position; a compressible material positioned in one of said lid and base; and a hair treatment material positioned in the other of said lid and base for cooperation with said compressible material during use to treat hair.
 19. An applicator as recited in claim 18 further comprising a bail pivotally mounted to said lid for pivotal movement from a use position above said lid to a latch position below said base holding said lid and base in said closed position.
 20. An applicator as recited in claim 18 wherein said material is recessed and is selected from the group consisting essentially of solid, semi-solid, gel, and high viscosity liquid impregnated pad materials; in turn selected from the group consisting essentially of, hair dye, highlighter, bleach, protein treatments, detangler, conditioner, oil adder or remover, or grease removing materials. 